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[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

He is out at the end of the 2020 season, if there is a season. Apparently Ferrari were only prepared to offer him a one year deal which he wouldn't accept.
Hard to see where he can go unless Hamilton fancies swapping seats, which would be a crazy thing for him to do imo.
Other than retirement, McLaren might be his best option ?

[Varche]

I saw that. He is finished. Too much new talent assuming F1 or anything else for that matter ever gets going again.

They are going to just have a small handful of venues, have accommodation to self isolate the entire entourage for a fortnight before, have spare team members including drivers, then do maybe five Grand Prixs in a weekend , then fly back to base, fortnights self isolation before flying out to next venue to repeat. Everyones pay will have to drop dramatically with no crowds unless they jack up TV viewing price.........

[STEMO]

He'll hardly end up skint. His annual salary is $40 million and he's worth half a billion dollars.

[Sir Tigger KC]

They'll probably end up racing using X-Box type F1 racing games and it'll probably be more exciting and interesting to watch! 

[Varche]

That is already happening. There is a huge difference between an audacious overtake on an xbox and one on a real track.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

He'll hardly end up skint. His annual salary is $40 million and he's worth half a billion dollars.

Remember....$500 million is only actually abut £400 million.

Poor lamb.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Once past a certain point, it cant be about the money. The money is just an indicator of their value, relative to others doing the same job.

[STEMO]

Once past a certain point, it cant be about the money. The money is just an indicator of their value, relative to others doing the same job.

To a certain extent. Some drivers lose the hunger once their bank balance reaches 8 figures, others, such as Hamilton, couldn't drive at anything below 100% if they tried.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Vettel had that four year period where he was at his best, he had the best car, and little competition. Since then reality has kicked in, and it seems to me that, mentally he hasn't been strong enough to deal with it. He isn't the living legend he thought he was.
Imo he should bow out gracefully, because there is no way he can regain his former glory.
I have a feeling that he wont though. he is probably hoping and praying Hamilton will want to drive for Ferrari at some point and he can then jump in the Mercedes.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

If I were the decision maker at Ferrari I would be calling Riciardos manager.

[Varche]

Not Giovanni for a quarter of the price?

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Nah. I rate Riciardo best of the rest after Hamilton - if he still has the hunger after his couple of seasons of trials & tribulations.

[henryd]

Nah. I rate Riciardo best of the rest after Hamilton - if he still has the hunger after his couple of seasons of trials & tribulations.

Apparently young Carlos Sainz is in the frame for the Ferrari drive

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Yep, just read that too. Apparently he comes cheap and will be a safe, non threatening number 2 for Leclerc.
Vettel or Riciardo to McLaren then.
Theres press talk of Vettel replacing Bottas at Mercedes, but I cant see it myself. Unless the Mercedes board are so blindly Nationalistic that they hope he would beat Hamilton and become a German World champion in their car.
I think it more likely that he would play a lot of mind games with Hamilton, become a distraction within the team and allow the other teams to overtake them.

[henryd]

Yep, just read that too. Apparently he comes cheap and will be a safe, non threatening number 2 for Leclerc.
Vettel or Riciardo to McLaren then.
Theres press talk of Vettel replacing Bottas at Mercedes, but I cant see it myself. Unless the Mercedes board are so blindly Nationalistic that they hope he would beat Hamilton and become a German World champion in their car.
I think it more likely that he would play a lot of mind games with Hamilton, become a distraction within the team and allow the other teams to overtake them.

Mercedes have done the German world champion bit with Nico so don't think that will bother them,rumour mill has Ricardo Mclaren bound

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

He'll hardly end up skint. His annual salary is $40 million and he's worth half a billion dollars.

That is a lot of money for driving a car around in circles. Imagine how much he would be worth if he actually made a contribution to society.

[STEMO]

He'll hardly end up skint. His annual salary is $40 million and he's worth half a billion dollars.

That is a lot of money for driving a car around in circles. Imagine how much he would be worth if he actually made a contribution to society.

He makes TB happy, he adores F1.

[biggriffin]

The driver who goes to Ferrari, will be chosen on how much sponsorship he can bring with him,,, Hamilton will stay at Bercesades to get his 7th title, then possibly go to Ferrari, All Top flight drivers want to drive for Ferrari, it's a bucket list thing.

[STEMO]

The driver who goes to Ferrari, will be chosen on how much sponsorship he can bring with him,,, Hamilton will stay at Bercesades to get his 7th title, then possibly go to Ferrari, All Top flight drivers want to drive for Ferrari, it's a bucket list thing.

Yeah, before you die. Good chance in a Ferrari.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I really cant see why they would want to anymore. When the old man was alive and the team had soul yes. But its just a brand like Rolex or Nike now. And that's before we get into the "only win when they cheat" discussion, which takes away a lot of the kudos of winning when the driver wins in a red car.
Hamilton doesn't need Ferrari at all imo, and I doubt he could fit into the team well if he went there.
He might buy into the hype at some point though and finish up there just before retirement.
If Sianz does go there because he is a cheap option, it will be a shame imo. Despite all their faults they are one of the top tier of teams and should sign the best drivers they can get.
I wonder if Leclerc is behind the scenes pushing for a team mate who wont be a strong challenge to him. He is almost French after all and that is a French type of mindset. Prost spent his whole career doing things like that.

[henryd]

Its official,Sainz to Ferrari and Riccardo to Maclaren

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Sainz has been around for a few years now and Ive never been that impressed with him. Seems they are really building the team around Leclerc.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Sainz has been around for a few years now and Ive never been that impressed with him. Seems they are really building the team around Leclerc.

Yep...a so-so driver. OK but not exceptional.

The Honey badger need to keep well away from Maxxy  the boy wonder if he wants to look impressive.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Two F1 races, without spectators, at Silverstone this summer.
TB could attach a camera to his drone, hover over the circuit, and stream the footage live on OOF.

[biggriffin]

Two F1 races, without spectators, at Silverstone this summer.
TB could attach a camera to his drone, hover over the circuit, and stream the footage live on OOF.

 I bet they will be wise to that, and put measures in place to prevent it.

[TheBoy]

Two F1 races, without spectators, at Silverstone this summer.
TB could attach a camera to his drone, hover over the circuit, and stream the footage live on OOF.

I found out a week ago that one of the drones can do a live YouTube stream.  Although its borderline that Silverstone is within range of my back garden, and I CBA to go out...   ...though with no spectators, maybe I can get out

[TheBoy]

He'll hardly end up skint. His annual salary is $40 million and he's worth half a billion dollars.

That is a lot of money for driving a car around in circles. Imagine how much he would be worth if he actually made a contribution to society.

He makes TB happy, he adores F1.

Well, it says something when the speculations about who is moving where is more interesting that the "racing"

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

There isn't any racing.

[TheBoy]

There isn't any racing.

And hasn't been for about 15 years

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Nah. Hamilton has given us some of the best racing Ive ever seen. Yes, the sport has been ruined by people who don't know their arse from their elbow, the cars are awful, the regulations are atrocious, but when theres a chance for real on track racing he is as good or better than anyone Ive ever seen.
He is the only reason I still watch it.
Ive been watching F1 for nearly 45 years, and the most boring period without a doubt was the Schumacher era, when he drove a car which was much faster than all the others, and his team mates were never allowed to race him. The racing has improved hugely since then.

[Varche]

Alonso might be in the Renault with the difference in pay between Ricciardo and him being subbed by F1

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Sounds feasible. Don't know why he cant let go though. Hes a very good driver, but he isn't going to win another string of titles no matter what happens. His time has come and gone, and he partially wasted it by being a devious arsehole who no-one particularly wanted to work with. A bit like Biaggi was in MotoGP.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Sounds feasible. Don't know why he cant let go though. Hes a very good driver, but he isn't going to win another string of titles no matter what happens. His time has come and gone, and he partially wasted it by being a devious arsehole who no-one particularly wanted to work with. A bit like Biaggi was in MotoGP.

Yes.

[biggriffin]

Vettal will end up in a DTM, or Sports cars,, He may go sideways into a rallying, Like Mr Hakenaien did, but being Finnish driving sideways is standard out there.

Or there's America.

[ronnyd]

Vettal will end up in a DTM, or Sports cars,, He may go sideways into a rallying, Like Mr Hakenaien did, but being Finnish driving sideways is standard out there.

Or there's America.

Social distancing in Nascar.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Racing in the U.S. is usually close and hard. The little prima donna would get eaten alive.

[Doctor Gollum]

Racing in the U.S. is usually close and hard. The little prima donna would get eaten alive.

You say that like it's a bad thing...

[TheBoy]

I haven't seen any improvement since, well, forever.  The rules for the last 20 years of so have discouraged any form of racing, and the tyre rules are dreamt up to ensure no racing ever takes place.  Not wait for pit stops to gain a place, or the false overtaking of DRS which prevent proper full on racing.  Do gooders have wrecked the show, as always, and we ended up with a field full of losers like Button was his entire career.

Shoot the poofters driving, put in those with a desire to drive but on low wages, give them tyres and enough fuel to last 200 miles, and send them out and let them go hell for leather.  Until they do, like so many other sports where money has destroyed it, it becomes more about celebrity than the sport.


I don't doubt Hamiltons skill, or Verstappens, or even Leclerc to a lesser extent, but not sure how they would do in a proper full on 2hr/200m race.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I agree with much of what you say, apart from the drivers. Regardless of the stupid rules etc. the cream will more often than not, rise to the top.
The top drivers today would probably have also been top drivers 40 years ago. The main difference they would have had to contend with then was the level of risk. If they could handle that, mentally, they would have been at the top of their game, albeit in much slower, but more fun to drive cars.

[TheBoy]

I reckon the top couple of current F1 drivers would need to change their fitness regime to cope with Mansell/Senna/Prost era cars, to build up more strength, not just fitness.  But that aside, they'd love that era of the car really moving, and the ability to overtake properly.  How well they would do against the stars of yesteryear will depend on the size of their balls.  Lets face it, Mansell wasn't a great, great driver, but he had massive balls.

I think the current rules around car design make them less safe, and we have bigger and bigger run off areas to compensate, ruining it for the spectators.  Although the false overtaking and the prima donna drivers did that ages ago.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Yep, they would need to revert to pulling weights on each side of their neck to build up necks bigger than their head like Mansell & co. used to have. If you go back a little further they would also have to learn to steer  an F1 car one handed ,without PAS, while almost constantly changing gear using a gearlever with the other hand.
In the big balls competition, I would put Gilles Villeneuve way out front in a class of his own, then hard to choose between Mansell, Jacque Villeneuve and Hamilton. They all had / have gonads like watermelons.
It was more obvious with Mansell than some of the others for some reason. A combination of his driving style and the cars of the day I suspect. You could actually see on your TV he was right on the limit a lot of the time.
I loved watching him race, but hated listening to him talk.

[Doctor Gollum]

He made John Major sound interesting 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Wouldn't disagree with that.

[STEMO]

The accent didn't help.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

The accent didn't help.

Yes.....the scouse accent is so much more polished and sophisticated than a brum accent.

[Doctor Gollum]

My quip didn't quite do him justice...

Actually comes across as a pretty decent bloke, if a bit, um, reserved...

https://youtu.be/yLHUAwZKbRI

[Kevin Wood]

I wish I could find a certain interview with his engineer of the time. He didn't quite share your view.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Patrick head said of him "its maximum aggravation at all times." He seemed to alienate those he worked with, but no denying he could be pure magic in the car.